For our Briefing Room on Last Cash Markets, PYMNTS.com asked Mike Kasavana, professor in Hospitality Business at Michigan State University, to take a seat in the hot seat to answer five burning questions on the state of the cashless society.

Mike Kasavana is the NAMA-endowed professor in hospitality business and holds CHTP (Certified Hospitality Technology Professional) certification.  Kasavana is the recipient of the MSU Distinguished Faculty Award. He has been inducted into the HFTP International Technology Hall of Fame and was the first recipient of a Distinguished Achievements Award from FS/TEC.

Kasavana continues research into the current and near future developments of electronic commerce, information technology, and transaction processing methodology relative to the hospitality industry. He recently completed an innovative research project dealing with the impact of technology on industry productivity and competitive advantage and is credited with coining the phrases "V-Commerce” and "Menu Engineering"

In this interview, Kasavana weighs in on the changing consumer payment options in the existing taxi cab market, the mysterious chicken vs. the egg, which cash-based market will be the last to convert, and more. 

Mike Kasavana Ph.D. Dr. Kasavana has authored or co-authored six books and a host of academic and industry journal articles. In addition, he has also created a series of online instructional materials and software products. Dr. Kasavana has been actively exploring TCP/IP application (Internet, Intranet and Extranet) opportunities for various aspects of the hospitality industry including virtual cash transactions, application service providers, e-procurement processes, and effective web site design. He earned BS (Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration), MBA (Finance), and Ph.D. (Management Information Systems) degrees from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.